Collins - Murray 1849 Marriage Ahoghill

The marriage on 30.6.1849 appears to say something like “John Collins of …”, possibly suggesting John was from another parish. Some of the letters look like Ant (as in Antrim) but I might be mistaken. No other marriage on that page has the same annotation. Tradition was to marry in the bride’s church, so you can be reasonably sure that Catherine came from Ahoghill parish but her husband may have come from some other parish nearby.

I doubt Catherine’s birth date is 1838 if she married in 1849. I assume that her age was calculated from censuses or other similar later data, she’s likely to have been 20 or more when she married, so probably born pre 1829. Unfortunately Ahoghill RC baptisms only start in 1833 so you might not find any trace of her birth.

I looked for the 2 childrens births 1855/1856 but did not find them in parish records. (Statutory birth registration didn’t start till 1864 so baptism records are the only source of births at this time).

If you can find parents names from death certificates, that might help narrow the search.

No Murray or Collins families in the tithe applotment records for the parish of Ahoghill in 1825. That doesn’t mean they weren’t living there, just that they didn’t have any land. So, if they were in the parish at the time, they were probably agricultural labourers/weavers.

http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/antrim/tithe-applotments/ahoghill-parish.php#.WXKpuhR9eg0

Just 1 RC Murray in Ahoghill in the 1766 census: Neal Murray

http://www.ulsterancestry.com/ShowFreePage.php?id=328

No Collins or Murray gravestones in St Mary’s RC graveyard in Ahoghill. However most people couldn’t afford a gravestone so that doesn’t mean they are not buried there. Just no gravestone.

Murray is not a very common RC name in Ahoghill. This was the only family in the 1901 census. Possibly worth bearing in mind in case you get additional info:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Ahoghill/Ahoghill_Village/924176/

Dear Elwyn,

What a kind and thorough response. Thank you.

I did notice the notation after John Collins' name on the 1849 record, but could not decipher same. I will continue to look for his home parish. 

Thank you for finding Neal Murray and the 1911 census record with multiple Catherine nieces.

It makes sense that Ahoghill was Catherine's parish and perhaps their circumstances make it hard to gather much more evidence of their lives before leaving Ireland. 

Also, thanks for the note regarding Catherine's age.Obviously, she wouldn't have been eleven.(Bit sloppy there on my part)  After her death, John remarried Ann Conlon of Milltown, Westmeath of whom I am descended. 

Again, thanks for your work. You made my first message board experience an enlightening one.

Mal